Pawns
by Medie
Summary: A confrontation between two enigmatic women. (Crossover with Harsh Realm)


Title: Pawns  
Author: M. Edison  
Keywords: Crossover. Marita fic.  
Disclaimer: Neither Marita, Inga, or anything relating to them   
belongs to me. If it did both shows would be headed for another  
season and to hell with what anyone else thinks.  
Author's Note: Thank You Azar for the encouragement and beta!  
  
Pawns  
by M.  
------  
  
Government House  
Santiago City  
  
Inga was sitting in the War room – as Santiago called it – reviewing   
a progress report. Not that she needed it - her informants within the   
Republican Guard ensured she never lacked for accurate information -   
but she thought it prudent to be familiar with Santiago's version of   
events. It would be a bad idea if he questioned her on it and she had   
no answer. Quite possibly deadly.   
  
That was one lesson her employers had ensured she learn intimately.   
The Consortium was not known for its forgiving nature. Step out of   
line within their sphere of influence and you very quickly – and   
quietly – disappeared.  
  
And there wasn't anywhere the Consortium's influence didn't reach,   
her presence in Harsh Realm proved that. But by placing her in the   
game her superiors had inadvertently given her something she'd only   
been able to observe before. A taste of the power normally reserved   
for their inner circle.   
  
At Santiago's side, she might as well be a god. She had his ear, he   
turned to her for information and counsel. She influenced his   
decisions and, in some ways, controlled him.  
  
It was intoxicating.  
  
-*-*-*-*-*-*-  
  
The Real World  
En Route To the Harsh Realm Storage Facility  
  
The black Lexus drifted out of traffic with absolutely no sign that   
there was anything particularly important about it. Nothing that   
would distinguish it from any other car, yet it was like no other car   
it had passed. The difference was not found in the vehicle itself but   
in the driver. That difference was not due to her stunning beauty or   
the almost unearthly composure which emanated from her, though both   
definitely added to her mysterious aura.  
  
The true difference lay in the knowledge she held and the mission   
she'd long ago taken upon herself.  
  
Presenting her security pass to the guard at the gate, the blonde   
waited with what seemed to be unending patience for him to verify and   
return it.   
  
Though she was not the first beautiful woman he'd seen, the young   
guard flushed slightly when their hands brushed as he handed her pass   
back. She paid it no heed, returning the plastic pass to her   
briefcase before resting her hands on the steering wheel to wait for   
the gate to open - driving through when it did.   
  
-*-*-*-*-*-*-  
  
The drive to the parking area was brief. With an almost serene   
unhurriedness, she got out of the car then leaned back in to pick up   
her soft-leather briefcase.   
  
  
No one seemed to be watching as she advanced on the `storage   
facility' and ran her pass through the electronic lock. She knew   
differently of course. This building housed a top secret project of   
great importance and it was watched very closely. More closely, in   
some ways, than the White House. Security was of the utmost   
importance. No one could be allowed to know what was really behind   
the benign walls.  
  
-*-*-*-*-*-*-  
The procedures that followed were familiar to her, she'd visited the   
facility before. Although, then her reasons for doing so had been   
more routine, far less pressing than they now were. Nevertheless, she   
forced herself to be patient as she was led to the room where she lay   
down in the chair.  
  
Closing her eyes, Marita Covarrubias waited to be scanned into Harsh   
Realm.  
  
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-  
  
Government House  
Santiago City  
  
It was imperative Santiago not see her, he would question her   
identity, yet Marita strode through Government House as if she   
herself were the one who owned it.  
  
The Consortium was fully aware of the situation with Santiago, they   
had assigned a liaison to ally herself to both the General and those   
in the real world trying to stop him, but ordinarily The Cause   
required more attention. Recent events now demanded Marita's presence   
and the lovely blonde could not help feel a twinge of annoyance at   
the thought. The Work was at a delicate and precarious stage - she   
could not afford to be regularly faced with situations like these.  
  
Frankly, it was an inconvenience and she *hated* to be   
inconvenienced. A fact well known amongst those who dealt with her.   
To be an inconvenience to Marita Covarrubias meant you were   
dangerously close to being expendable. Those in the Consortium who   
were considered expendable rarely received an opportunity to reverse   
that status. They just didn't live long enough.  
  
"You." Her voice was brisk and authoritative, bringing the young   
Republican Guard officer to a quick stop.   
  
"Yes ma'am?" he questioned, her manner leading him to believe she was   
a person of importance.  
  
"The room where General Santiago conducts his briefings...where is   
it?"  
  
Looking around to get his bearings, the young man paused before   
speaking. "Down that corridor to your right. It's a large set of   
double doors."  
  
With a nod of thanks, she turned and walked in that direction.  
  
-*-*-*-*-*-*-  
  
The last thing Inga Fossa expected was to hear Marita Covarrubias's   
voice. After all, Marita was in the Real World - right hand to CGB   
Spender - hard at work on the Project. Helping the Colonists on one   
hand while working to find the vaccine to the virus they'd soon set   
loose upon the world, on the other.  
  
So, when the other woman's cultured and cool voice briskly cut   
through the silence with a "Hello, Inga," the brunette's head snapped   
up swiftly, her expression one of shock.  
  
Turning, she felt the aura of power she'd surrounded herself with   
vanish as if it had never been in the face of the reminder that she   
was only a cog in a very large wheel. One that would crush her if   
felt so inclined. "Marita...what brings you here? You know it's a   
risk to come into the Game, let alone to come to Government House. If   
Santiago sees you..."  
  
"He didn't." The tall blonde cut her off dismissively, walking around   
her and over to the large map of the United States – with Santiago's   
conquered territory marked – that dominated one end of the   
room. "How much progress have you made in curtailing the General's   
activities?"  
  
Still standing at the table near the door, Inga brushed her   
fingertips lightly across the polished surface. "It's delicate work.   
General Santiago is a very shrewd man; if I move too quickly he'll   
become suspicious and no doubt discover the fact my loyalties lie   
elsewhere."  
  
"Do they?" Marita prompted with a raised eyebrow. "Suspicions have   
begun to circulate...rumours that you've betrayed the Work. They   
believe you're no longer acting for our interests but your own. Your   
apparent lack of progress is only serving to solidify those   
suspicions."  
  
"Those suspicions are false," the other woman argued, moving around   
the half-moon table to stand next to her superior. "As I said,   
Santiago is..."  
  
"No fool. We are all aware of that but the fact remains, Colonization   
is still getting closer daily and we soon will be unable to split our   
attention. He cannot be allowed to inconvenience us for much longer."   
Her gaze was unforgiving and offered no support. "I don't need to   
tell you the consequences if we delay too long."  
  
She was right. Inga didn't have to be told the consequences. If the   
Consortium failed in defeating the colonists then Santiago wouldn't   
have to worry about destroying the Real World. Colonization would do   
it for him but the Colonists weren't likely to maintain the computers   
that generated Harsh Realm, or tend the bodies of those who lived   
within it. Harsh Realm would cease to exist.   
  
"I am moving as quickly as I can," she repeated with a determined   
tone.   
  
"I'm sure you are," the other woman patronized. "But whose moves are   
you playing out? Ours? Or your own?"   
  
Inga, a woman who rarely allowed herself to even admit she had   
emotions much less feel them, was beginning to become afraid.   
Convincing Marita she was loyal to The Work was the only way to stay   
alive. No doubt the Consortium had someone else situated within   
Santiago's ranks, someone fully prepared to take over from her should   
she be `removed' from her position. It was a chilling realization and   
she knew she'd allowed herself to become too comfortable within her   
assignment. Too sure that she was indispensable to the task.   
  
Looking into Marita Covarrubias's face, she knew far differently. To   
*Them* she was merely a pawn on a chessboard and an insignificant   
pawn at that. One that could be sacrificed at any time.  
  
She knew how it would happen: the other one, whoever had been chosen   
to replace her should needs be, would approach Santiago with `proof'   
that someone in his inner circle had betrayed him. Someone he trusted   
more than anyone else. That news would send the General into a rage   
and he would be all too happy to view this proof which, no doubt,   
would be completely undeniable and easily verified. There would be no   
trial, no chance to explain what was going on, she would be executed   
swiftly and without mercy.   
  
A similar scenario would play out with the generals and Project Heads   
in the real world. The same person would approach with proof and   
then, when it was discovered that Inga had `mysteriously' suffered a   
brain haemorrhage, that person would take her place.   
  
It was all too easy to manipulate both worlds. The Consortium had   
seen to that. Seen to it she would be able to manipulate them   
whenever she required it. But it could also be used against her and   
she knew it.   
  
Choosing her words carefully, Inga took a few steps away from her   
superior before turning to face her again. "I have been forced to   
deviate several times from the original strategy. There was no other   
option."  
  
"Explain."   
  
"You are aware of the so-called `Prophecy' of Harsh Realm?"  
  
Marita was: she had read a report on it written by the very woman she   
now questioned. "I am."  
  
"Well, a young soldier, a man named Thomas Hobbes, has entered the   
Game and there are many people who believe he is the man of the   
Prophecy."   
  
"And why would they believe that?" the cool blonde questioned, taking   
a seat at the table and brushing imaginary wrinkles from her   
impeccable suit.   
  
"He has done things within the Game that no one else has ever been   
able to do: he has, with only minimal help, managed to elude Santiago   
at every turn and he has a way about him. It leads people to believe   
in him; to believe what he is capable of." Inga thought of her own   
encounter with the young man and the strength she'd seen in his eyes.   
Others might have doubted it, but she didn't. Hobbes was a threat to   
Santiago's continued dominance of the Game and she suspected he was   
one that couldn't be stopped.  
  
"Can this soldier be used to our advantage?"  
  
"Yes. He has all but declared war on Santiago and is actively looking   
for ways to get close enough to kill him. He travels with two others:   
a mute and a soldier who once served with the Republican Guard." Inga   
returned to her paperwork and shuffled through her briefcase, finding   
the files on Florence, Hobbes and Pinnochio. "A ragtag group but they   
continually thwart any attempts by the Guard to capture or kill them."  
  
Marita flipped languidly through the files, absorbing the information   
that she was concerned with and ignoring any other extraneous   
detail. "Have you attempted to make any contact with them?"  
  
"Pinnochio doesn't trust me; we were involved here." Inga wasn't sure   
what was more unnerving about the other woman. The sharp looks she   
gave or the cool indifference with which she ignored. "But I have   
spoken to Hobbes. He nearly left the Game once but I convinced him to   
stay."  
  
"How? Did he reach the Chair?" At the brunette's confirming nod,   
Marita frowned. "Don't let security lapse that badly again."  
  
"It was an attempt to trap him," the other woman justified. "I helped   
him escape the building."  
  
"Nevertheless, if this man is to be any use to us, there must be no   
chance of his capture by Santiago. I will not invest resources into a   
plan that will be easily defeated." Pushing to her feet, she walked   
to the map again. It was best, in her opinion, if Inga didn't know   
that the Consortium was gone. She, with Krycek's help, had managed to   
pull together some of the network under her control. It wasn't as big   
or as grand as the Consortium had been, but it served her purposes   
and allowed her a fair degree of information and power. Some of it   
had been maintained simply because none of those within the   
organization believed that their leaders could possibly be taken away   
so easily and she played upon that disbelief. It was a strategy that   
wouldn't work on Inga, however. She knew the other woman was   
ambitious for as much power as she could possess.   
  
The one thing that truly held her in check was the belief that the   
Consortium would have her killed if she even considered making a move   
against them. Were she to know they were gone?  
  
It would simply not be allowed to occur. Her resources did allow her   
to control how much access Inga would have with her Consortium   
contacts and, with some careful planning, it should not prove   
difficult to deceive her.   
  
"So, you wish me to move forward in the attempt to use Hobbes?" She   
prompted after a long pause.  
  
"Yes; but be careful how you move. He must not know of your   
connections in the outside world. If he is the `innocent' you claim   
him to be, discovery of The Work or even of the Consortium would   
render him useless to us. He would behave like others we have dealt   
with and that is unacceptable. The blame would lie on your shoulders   
so I would advise you take great caution in your work."  
  
The ice in her tone seemed to have thickened and Inga took the   
message as it was intended to be received. Fail us and your worst   
fears will be realized. She would be killed, or worse, used in the   
testing process. With the Consortium there were worse things than   
death. Much worse.  
  
"I will keep you apprised of my progress," she promised, twining her   
fingers together loosely before her, thumbs brushing against the   
expensive material of her skirt.   
  
"Good." The tall blonde began to make her way around the horseshoe   
table once more. "And I trust you are aware that personal agendas are   
not tolerated in The Work?" Another warning and another threat.  
  
Inga nodded slowly, working hard to maintain the composure that   
seemed effortless for the other woman. "I am aware."  
  
"I will expect a report on your progress very soon." Marita   
cautioned, the true statement coming across loud and clear.  
  
Get to work, any delays will not be received well, our patience is   
waning.  
  
"You'll receive it."  
  
I won't fail.  
  
Opening the door, Marita strode out, letting it swing shut behind her.  
  
Exhaling heavily, Inga dropped into the nearest chair and held her   
forehead in one hand.  
  
It was then she noticed that her hands were shaking.  
  
-*-*-*-*-*-*-  
  
Real World  
Harsh Realm Facility  
  
Marita's eyes opened without fanfare or a flurry of reaction and she   
waited patiently as the doctors and technicians moved about,   
disconnecting her from the Game's hardware. When they had completed   
their work, she sat up and stood on shaky legs. It would take a   
moment to adjust, the sensation almost like when one disembarks from   
an airplane or a boat onto dry land, and she took that moment to pull   
on the robe they offered while looking at the bodies that lay on   
tables around her.   
  
"Thomas Hobbes?" she questioned bluntly of the doctor next to her.  
  
The young man seemed almost surprised by her question but propelled   
her down an aisle between the tables until reaching one a few feet   
away from hers. "This is Lieutenant Hobbes," he told her formally.  
  
"Thank you." Her tone was dismissive and he left her with the soldier.  
  
Looking down at him, she was struck by the odd thought that with the   
similarities in coloring and age, they could have been siblings. Some   
small corner of her heart that still felt twinged with sympathy and   
guilt at seeing him like this. The file had said he had a fiancee and   
a small child waiting for him at home, a family that he might never   
see again. Particularly since they had chosen him to be used in their   
plans.  
  
She squashed the emotions ruthlessly. There was little room for   
sentimentality in The Work. She had learned that lesson many times   
over and, as wrong as it was, Thomas Hobbes was useful to their   
plans. His sacrifice was merely the latest in a line of many others   
and, in light of what lay ahead of them, it was small if it meant   
stopping Colonization. Granted, stopping General Santiago might not   
have appeared important to The Work but it was. It was a minor part   
at first glance but The Work was like setting up a line of dominoes.   
If one didn't fall then none would. If Santiago wasn't removed, if   
his plans went ahead, then their resources would be drained and   
split. That could not be allowed. He would be removed, there was no   
other option.   
  
It was regrettable that Hobbes would be used in the plan but it was a   
regret she could live with. Just as she lived with many others.  
  
Turning, Marita walked away into the undispellable darkness that   
seemed to hover over the facility, leaving him as he was. His body   
lying on a table in a military facility while his mind, like so many   
more, was used in their plans.   
  
Just another pawn.  
  
finis 


End file.
